


Iron in Winter

by ShortForPhill



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/M, Female Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:06:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27222445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShortForPhill/pseuds/ShortForPhill
Summary: Princess Antonia Stark is married off to James Barnes in order to secure an alliance with King Steven. Her husband is kind, but her new home is cold and unwelcoming at first
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Tony Stark/Tiberius Stone
Comments: 19
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

Bucky finds his new wife on the upper deck, eyes locked on the direction of her homeland. Princess Antonia Stark hasn’t spoken to him more than required, but that may be because they don’t speak each other’s language. They were married in a quick ceremony designed to usher them out of her city as soon as possible. Lord Stane wants Antonia out of the way and he wants the alliance with King Steven that this marriage is supposed to bring.

“Antonia,” Bucky greets her, careful not to startle her.

“James,” she replies. He likes the way his name sounds with her accent. He likes a lot of things about her. She doesn’t shy away from his metal arm, despite the corrupted magic that keeps it mobile. She’s smart and beautiful, and so fucking brave to leave her southern coastline for the frigid north.

“Aren’t you cold?” he blurts out. She just looks at him, one eyebrow raised. “Cold,” he repeats, and pretends to shiver.

“Cold, yes,” she admits with a frown. He opens his arms and she stares at him like he’s a dumbass. He very well might be, considering how smitten he is with her already. She shuffles closer with the kind of caution reserved for wild animals. He wraps her in a hug, slowly in case she changes her mind. The soft sigh she lets out as she settles against him says he made the right call.

“Antonia,” he rumbles.

“No, Tony,” she corrects him.

“Tony,” he repeats.

“Good, James,” she reaches up and clumsily pats him on the face.

“‘M not a dog,” he protests, grinning anyway.

“Yes,” she nods.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony dresses herself like she’s preparing for battle. In a way, she is. Her dress is deep red, and clings to her in the southern style. She pairs it with the silver fur gifted to her by Bucky, and jewelry made of silver. She’s wearing Bucky’s colors. He wants to kiss her when he realizes it, but she shoves his face away and indicates her freshly painted lips.

“Alright,” he puts his hands up in surrender. She sniffs imperiously in reply, then pokes her cheek. He kisses her there quickly, then ducks out of range.

Bucky turns his attention to his own attire as Tony begins to do something complicated with her hair. He digs through his nicer shirts until he finds one in the same shade of red as her dress. Pants are pants, but he finds a black pair that at least matches. He makes sure his wedding ring, on a chain around his neck, is visible. This is about supporting his wife during their welcome home feast, and anyone not happy about her arrival can suck it up.


	3. Chapter 3

Introducing Bucky’s new wife to his king should be the easiest thing in the world. It is not. In fact, it goes south almost immediately.

“Princess Antonia,” Steve says with all the warmth of an ice storm.  
“King Steven,” Tony replies warily. “It has been a long time.” There’s a shared history there that neither of them thought to mention, but now isn’t the time. Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky sees Natasha. He gestures in her direction and she nods.  
“Stevie,” Bucky growls warningly as he tucks Tony closer against his side. She reaches up and laces her slender fingers through his metal ones.  
“Right,” Steve visibly shakes off whatever unpleasant remark he was about to say. “Welcome home. Both of you.” Then he goes and makes everything worse, because he can’t resist a fight. “We’ll toast to your husbands’ good health tonight.” 

The color drains from Tony’s face. She squeezes Bucky’s hand so tightly that he’s worried she might actually dent the metal.  
“Yes,” she replies, quickly composing herself. “My father always admired you.” That at least seems to prompt Steve to look a little bit ashamed.

“He was a good man,” Steve says stiffly. He’s always been stubborn, especially when it comes to first impressions. Before things can go any further wrong, Natasha appears at Steve’s side. She’s accompanied by Sarah, the Queen Mother. If anyone can set Steve straight, it’s his mother.

“James, Antonia,” Sarah greets them cheerfully. “I hope your voyage home went well.”  
“No trouble at all,” Bucky replies. Tony nods.  
“I’m going to borrow my son for a bit,” Sarah informs them. “I’ll see you at the feast.”

Bucky grins as Steve is led away. His smile fades as he turns his attention to Tony.  
“What was that about?” He asks.  
“I have ... a reputation,” Tony admits. “Back home, they make up stories about me, especially after my first husband died.”

Tony was married off at fourteen to a man named Tiberius Stone. He died three years later, supposedly in an accident. Then, when her parents died shortly after, Stane did everything in his power to paint Tony as being unfit to rule. At twenty-one, she should be sitting on the throne now, not shipped off at Stane’s earliest convenience.

“Stevie knows better than to believe that horse shit,” Bucky scowls. Tony shrugs.  
“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Natasha promises.  
“He does not have to like me,” Tony says, “But he will respect me.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Where is my wife?” Bucky asks, appearing behind Clint. The archer squawks in alarm and falls off his perch.   
“Doesn’t she tell you things?” Clint complains. Bucky raises his eyebrows. “Alright, alright, she’s in the forge.”

It’s been a few weeks since Tony’s arrival and she’s spent most of her time exploring the castle. Her grasp of the language has improved dramatically, given that her introduction to it was a crash course from Natasha right after the wedding. 

“The forge?” Bucky repeats. It occurs to him that he has no idea what his wife actually wants to do with her free time.   
“Yeah. Took a minute for her to figure out the right word, but she got real excited once she realized it was an option.”  
“Huh.”

It takes a minute for Bucky to locate Tony in the forge. She’s tucked in a back corner, doing her best to explain something to the blacksmith, Jim Rhodes. She gestures wildly, words a mix of the languages she knows. She’s radiant, expressive, and clearly in her element.

Bucky clears his throat and they both whirl around to face him.  
“Husband, James!” Tony greets him. She points to Jim, “Also James. Rhodey.”  
“If you don’t appreciate your wife, I’m stealing her,” Jim announces.  
“That’s fair,” Bucky nods, “But I can assure you it won’t come to that.” They eye each other for a moment before Jim cracks a smile.  
“I gotta get back to work, but feel free to stick around,” he tells Tony. “You’re welcome here any time.”

Tony beckons Bucky forward, and he goes willingly. She’s wearing pants today, and what he now realizes is one of his shirts. Grease and soot are smudged on her face and hands. She looks the happiest he’s ever seen her.  
“James,” she says. “I made a thing.”  
“Show me, doll,” he responds. She presents him with a small dagger.   
“For you.” The craftsmanship is impeccable. It’s practically a work of art.   
“You know how to use one of these?” Bucky teases.   
“I know,” Tony smirks. In the blink of an eye the blade is against his throat. Bucky grins. He takes her wrist in his metal hand and lowers the dagger before pulling her into a kiss. The dagger clatters to the floor as she reaches up to grab his face and deepen the kiss.

A loud clang causes them to jump apart. Jim waves at them from across the forge, where he just slammed his hammer down on the anvil.  
“You have rooms for that,” He scolds them.   
“Jealous,” Tony fires back, despite looking thoroughly debauched. Bucky’s willing to bet he’s in a similar state.  
“You look like to seals fighting over a grape,” Jim insists. Bucky laughs. 

Tony retrieves the dagger and a small chest of what appears to be raw material from her worktable.   
“Bedroom now,” she suggests.  
“Good idea, doll,” Bucky nods.  
“You lovebirds have fun,” Jim waves them off as they leave the forge. Bucky intends to. So does Tony.


End file.
